Diagnosis. Oligosoma tekakahu can be distinguished from other related Oligosoma species through a combination of characters (Figure 4). Compared to O. maccanni, O. tekakahu has a glossy appearance, with brown predominating whereas O. maccanni has a greyer ground colour. The ear opening in O. maccanni often has large projecting scales on the interior margin, whereas these are minimal in O. tekakahu. The number of subdigital lamellae in O. maccanni (19–28) does not overlap with O. tekakahu (16). Longitudinal striping is more pronounced in adjacent populations of O. polychroma, which almost always have a pale stripe on the outside of the forelimbs and a prominent mid-dorsal stripe which O. tekakahu lacks. The ear opening in O. polychroma often has prominent projecting scales on the interior margin. The number of subdigital lamellae in O. tekakahu (16) is less than in any other member of the O. inconspicuum species complex. The number of ventral scales in O. tekakahu (68) is fewer than O. toka sp. nov. (70–88). Oligosoma tekakahu has a larger head relative to SVL than any other member of the O. inconspicuum species complex (its head length, 9.8 mm, was longer than any other specimen measured in the study).

Comment

Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017).

Etymology

From Te Kakahu, the Maori name for the type locality (= Chalky Island).